Feed mechanism for riveting-machines.



F. E. STANLEY.

FEED MECHANISM FOR RIVETING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. n, 1916.

Patented Ju1y'25, 1916.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK E. STANLEY, 0F WATERBUBY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO SCOVILL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT. v

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1916.

Application filed April 17, 1916. Serial No. 91,771.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK E. STAN- LEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at I'Vaterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Feed Mechanism for Riveting-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description.

This invention relates to that class of machines, in which a bur, washer, button or other object of that general character is to be set upon or affixed to an article, such as wearing apparel, by means of a fastener such as a rivet, eyelet or tack, and the object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism for feeding the fastener as it comes from the supply agent to the means for connecting it with the object to be set or aflixed.

In one of its aspects the invention is an improvement on the tack feed of my Patent No. 1,182,594, dated May 9, 1916, in that it replaces the spring interposed between the push-finger andthe arm to which it is pivoted by a spring-pressed roller hold-down which effects better control of the pushfinger in its relation to the tack to be fed than the formerly used spring, and further is less liable to derangement and damage than the other; but it will be understood that this hold-down is applicable to pushfingers of the same type when used for feeding fasteners other than tacks.

The invention also consists of a modification of the invention patented as above noted, in respect to the arrangement and operation of the cheek-pieces on the anvil for holding the fastener in position to be set as it is delivered thereto by the push-finger.

In the accon'ipanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a side elevation of enough of an otherwise typical riveting or setting ma chine to show the application and operation of the invention, the head being broken away on the near side. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the spring hold-down and its mount detached. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the push-finger detached. Fig. d is a front elevation of the anvil and hold-down with the push-finger in cross-section and the faceplate broken away. Fig. 5 is a illustrating the invention is one designed for setting snap-fasteners, and comprises the head 2, arched or hollowed out from front to rear, as indicated in the broken away portion Fig. 1, to receive the pushfinger and the parts of its operating mechanism. On the head are mounted the hopper or magazine 3'to receive the article to be set, and the hopper 4 to receive the fasteners. The hopper 3 is provided with a chute or raceway 5 leading to a suitable holder 6, such as that described in the case hereinabove referred to, or any other suited to receive and hold the article to be set. To this holder the articles are delivered one by one by suitable escapement mechanism herein in part shown but needing not to be described, and adjacent to the holder is a plunger 7 pivotally connected to a lever 8 which is mounted at 9 upon the head and is connected by a connecting rod 10 with a crank shaft 11 carrying a band-wheel or other motion applying medium 12, so that said lever 8 may be given a walking-beam motion, hopper 4 discharges into a chute or race way 13 which extends down to and opens transversely into a feed-trough 14 in an anvil 15, so that the tack or other fastener will be deposited from the chute or raceway '13 into the anvil feed-trough point up in position to be fed forward in the feedtrough to a point beneath the plunger and in alinement with the bur, washer or button in the holder (3. The tack when thus positioned is held by any suitable holding jaws, those herein shown being cheek-pieces 16 such as explained in the patent referred to, convergently mounted upon the inclined sides of the forward end of the anvil-block and yieldingly supported thereon so as to hold the tack by its head until the holder 6 descends with the plunger 7 and by pressure displaces the cheek-pieces and so releases the head ofthe tack.

The push-finger 17 is arranged horizontally above the anvil, and comprises a member 18 provided with an eye 19 by which it The may be pivotally connected to its operating mechanism, and this member 18 has a laterally extending flange 20 at its top of sufficient width to extend over and cover the feed-trough in the anvil and any tack therein, and the forward end of this push-finger is inclined upwardly from its leading end 21 part-way toward the middle of the pushfinger, and this leading end 21 is beveled, as at 22, on its underside beneath the flange 20. The push-finger is pivoted to an arm 23 suspended from the head and engaged by one member 24 of a bell-crank lever, such as that designated 60 in the patent referred to, which is pivotally mounted on the head above the push-finger, its other arm 25 engaging a slotted link 26 pivotally applied, as by a bracket 27, to the lever 8. The forward impulse of the arm 23 may be imparted in any suitable way, or by any suitable means, such, for example, as by the coiled spring 28 stretched between said arm and some stationary part of the machine and active when the forward end of the lever 8 is moved to raise the plunger, and such movement may be regulated, as by a setscrew 23 on the arm 23 acting upon the head 2, and the push-finger is retracted by the downward movement of the forwardend of the lever by means of the link 26, the slotted connection with which providing a a loose motion which permits the push-finger to move forward under the combined action of its descending lever and the impelling movement referred to.

In order to control the movement of the push-finger with relation to the tack or other fastener, I employ a spring hold-down,

preferably composed of a roller 29 mounted upon a slide 30 which in turn is mounted in a vertically slotted bracket 31 covered by a face-plate 32, and the whole supported upon one side of the rear of the anvil at the front of the recessed portion of the head, so that the roller 29 may extend across and ride upon the flange 20 of the push-finger and be supported thereon by means of a light spring 33 stretched between a pin 34 on the slide 30 and a stationary pin 35 on the face-plate 32. As the point of the tack stands up out of the feed-trougl1 14 slightly, and the leading end 21 of the push-finger travels on the outside level of this feedtrough, and the tack is fed to the feedtrough during the forward movement of the push-finger to place the preceding tack in position to be set, it is obvious that provision must be made for a slight lifting of the leading end of the push-finger so as to ride over the point of the tack without deflecting it. To accomplish this the bevel 22 on the leading end of the push-finger and the downward inclination of the forward end of the push-finger are provided, and it will be observed that little or no tension is exerted on the roller by its spring 33 when these beveled parts of the push-finger are under said roller, and hence the push-finger is free to ride over the point ofthe tack without displacing it or injuring it, and the rearward motion of the finger may thus be completed so as to get behind the tack and be ready to push it forward into setting position upon the next forward movement of the push-finger. As the push-finger moves forward the pressure of the hold-down roller increases as the high points of the finger come under the roller, and this is desirable because the push-finger should be kept steadily and strongly in contact with the top of the feed-trough and prevent it from slipping over the tack that it is pushing, which it otherwise would do as the point of the tack leans over and away from the finger. This leaning over of the tack is possible because the feed-trough must be roomy enough to give the head of the tack plenty of freedom of feed-movement so as to prevent its jam; ming or binding in the feed-trough. As already sufficiently indicated, the action of the spring in pulling down hard or continually as the push-finger moves forward is obtained by the gradual increase of the angle of inclination on the top of the finger rearwardly, which causes the roller to rise gradually higher and the spring to pull down harder until the end of the forward movement of the finger is reached and the tack is pushed in between the cheek-pieces.

In the patent referred to, a cam is shown at about the point where the raceway enters the feed-trough so as to raise the leading end of the push-finger sufficiently to ride over the tack point easily, but this cam may be omitted and the edge of the raceway used to accomplish the same purpose. The cam is indicated by dotted lines 36, Fig. 1.

As will be seen, the rear portion of the anvil-block has the square shoulders 37 next to and ending the inclines at front, and these shoulders with an overlapping face-plate 38 vvertically arranged on the end of anvil-block serve to guide the cheek-pieces in their movement and also keep them in place, and prevent them from binding. The up and down movements of the cheek-pieces are controlled by coiled springs 39 or like resilient agents, set in the anvil-base beneath the lower edges of the cheek-pieces. The means to control the lateral movement of the cheek-pieces comprise the screws 40 passed through slots 41 in the check-pieces and engaging the inclined sides of the anvil, and springs 42 interposed between the heads of the screws and the cheekpieces. Thus the cheek-pieces are capable of yielding downwardly under the descent of the holder as the button or other article in the holder is lowered upon the garment for purposes of setting, and as they thus yield the inclines on the anvil cause them to separate laterally, and this lateral separation is controlled by the springs 42, and then when the button and fastener are assembled and about to be released, these springs further yield to permit the cheek-pieces to further separate laterally so as to release their hold on the fastener. It will be understood that the base springs and the side springs react to restore the cheek-pieces to normal position to receive a fresh fastener after one has been disposed of.

It is to be understood that by the use of the term tack herein, I do not limit my invention to a machine for feeding tacks technically so known, but that, as clearly explained previously, the invention may be used in connection with various kinds of fas toners, and hence the claims although mentioning tacks are to be understood as including such variety of fasteners. It is also to be understood that the term riveting is used in a broad sense to cover the setting of the fastener by upsetting its end in any way that may be necessary to effect the union of the article to be set and the fastener by which it is set.

Variations in the construction of details are permissible within the scope of the invention as herein explained and claimed.

What I claim is 1. A feed mechanism for riveting machines, having a tack supplying mechanism, a feed trough into which the tack supplying mechanism opens and delivers tacks one by one, a reciprocating push-finger pivotally mounted above said feed trough, and a spring-pressed hold-down acting upon the push-finger transversely to its direction of motion and adapted to exert the least tension on the push-finger at the beginning of the forward stroke of such push-finger.

2. A feed mechanism for riveting machines, having a tack supplying mechanism, a feed trough into which the tack supplying mechanism opens and delivers tacks one by one, a reciprocating push-finger pivotally mounted above said feed trough and having an inclined leading end, and a springpressed hold-down acting upon the pushfinger transversely to its direction of motion and adapted to exert the least tension on the push-finger at the beginning of the forward stroke of such push-finger when in contact with the inclined leading end and increasing its tension as the high points of the pushfinger come into contact with the holddown.

3. A feed mechanism for riveting machines, having a tack supplying mechanism,

a feed trough into which the tack supplying mechanism opens and delivers tacksone by one, a reciprocating push-finger pivotally mounted above said feed trough and having an inclined leading end beveled on its under-i side to ride over a tack point on the backward movement, and a spring-pressed hold-down acting upon the push-finger transversely to its direction of motion and adapted to exert the least tension on the push-finger at thebeginning of the forward stroke of such push-finger when in contact with the inclined leading end and increasing its tension as the high points of the push-finger come into contact with the hold-down.

4. A tack feeding mechanism for riveting machines, comprising a tack supply, a setting anvil, a feed trough connecting the delivery end of the tack supply and the setting anvil, a reciprocating push-finger pivotally mounted above the feed trough, and a variable tension hold-down comprising a slide, a stationary mount in which it is arranged, a roller on said slide overlying the push-finger, and a spring to draw said roller into contact with the push-finger.

5. A tack feeding mechanism for riveting machines, comprising a tack supply, a set ting anvil, a feed trough connecting the delivery end of the tack supply and the setting anvil, a reciprocating push-finger pivotally mounted above the feed trough and having an inclined leading end extending rearwardly toward its middle, and a springpressed hold-down arranged transversely of the push-finger and operating upon its upper surface so as to exert a minimum of pres sure on the leading end as it reaches the limit of its rearward movement and a maximum of pressure as the inclined portion of the push-finger advances forward of the hold-down.

6. In a feed mechanism for riveting machines, an anvil having beveled sides convergently arranged, cheek-pieces arranged upon such sides, springs socketed in the base of the anvil in alinement with the cheek-pieces and normally forcing them upwardly and adapted to permit the cheek-pieces to yield downwardly, and springs acting laterally against the cheek-pieces to permit lateral yielding of the cheek-pieces and compel their return movement.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of April, A. D. 1916.

FREDERICK E. STANLEY. 

